As soon as my fork glided through the crunchy creaminess of this dish, I realized that this would be unlike any croquette I ever had before. No tired hush puppy look-alike here! Tiny crystals from the skillfully aged Manchego had been flawlessly massaged into a creamy homogeneity delightful to any pallet. The flavor of the ham was subtle, but easily discernible and interwoven throughout the velvety cheese to create a powerful harmony of flavors. This thing literally melted away inside my mouth! Chef Eli confessed that his secret was chilling the cheese overnight, then quick flash frying to produce a thin, intensely crisp shell. Now, suspend these balls of joy in a moat of garlic aïoli, add liberal dashes of hot Spanish paprika, and you have a powerful and complex tapas on which to munch.